9 Costly Mistakes Businesses Make on LinkedIn

The numbers are in. LinkedIn appeals to 41% of B2B marketers as their main social media network and is where 80% of B2B leads are generated.

The number one professional social network is also the channel where 43% of marketers have sourced their customers. What’s more, about 50% of LinkedIn users are more likely to buy from businesses that they have interacted with on LinkedIn.

Given the positive impact of LinkedIn on B2B marketing and branding campaigns, it’s important that you know how to properly leverage the platform by avoiding common mistakes. You wouldn’t want to spend unnecessary time and resources building a LinkedIn presence only to come up short because of a simple oversight, would you?

Here are some of the biggest (and most avoidable) mistakes businesses make on LinkedIn:

1. Inactivity

It’s counterproductive for your brand not to be active on LinkedIn. The digital era makes social media networks like LinkedIn an effective channel for connecting with partners and customers alike.

However, you’re likely to miss out on these opportunities if you fail to establish your social presence on LinkedIn. Without regular updates, your community won’t know if you’re still around and you risk losing touch. You can help your company keep active on LinkedIn by regularly posting status updates, publishing relevant and high-quality content, or engaging your connections in meaningful conversations.

2. Impersonal Connection Requests

It might be tempting to send as many connection requests as possible to LinkedIn users to expand your network, but unless you take the time to personalize your message, you won’t get the results you want.

You’d do better to explain to your prospects why they should accept your invite by focusing on what they can get from connecting with you. That said, before inviting companies to join your network, make sure you know the nature of their business, what they do, who their customers are, and where your products or services fit into their business.

3. Spamming

Having LinkedIn users accept your connection request does not give you the license to send them random, irrelevant messages that aren’t worth their time or attention.

It’s not advisable, for example, to hard sell to someone who barely knows you or what your company has to offer. Instead, you should direct your efforts toward getting to know them first – their interests, activities, goals, and challenges – to truly understand if you can really help them.

With the right strategy, LinkedIn can be a great B2B marketing tool for building relationships with your target market.

4. Ignoring Reviews

Modern-day consumers are taking advantage of social networks to rate businesses in terms of the quality of their products or services. And with people spending more time on social media, it’s easier than ever for anyone to see what LinkedIn users have to say about your company. Obviously, negative online reviews can affect your branding, marketing, and sales efforts.

To help your business get more positive reviews, listen to your customers’ feedback and always address their questions, comments, or complaints. It’s not enough to be present on social media. Brands need to actively engage with their audiences and correspondingly respond when engaged with.

5. Zero Employee Involvement

Before you look for outside for help to spread word about your company, approach your employees first. They can and should be your brand’s top endorsers, helping boost your engagement, visibility, and most importantly, building an air of trust and authority. On the other hand, not paying attention to this resource group may reflect poorly on your ability to maximize your internal assets.

Statistics say there are about 50% of employees who are already sharing things on social media about their employers, including job posting, blog articles, and other useful content.

You can use LinkedIn or other third-party tools to make it easy for your employees to promote your brand or your content to attract more traffic to your site, expand your market reach, or gain more leads and followers.

6. Ineffective Posting Strategies

When it comes to posting your content, for example, you need to be aware of the ideal time and frequency of posting. This is to help ensure your success in engaging your audience or attracting leads and potential sales through the content you’re sharing on the platform.

LinkedIn users seem to be receptive toward consuming content at various times during the day, around early morning and early evening hours. Just make sure to track your metrics to gauge if you’re posting at the best time and frequency for your particular audience.

7. Overpromotion

You may be using LinkedIn to promote your product, service, or business, which is perfectly fine, but you should never overdo it. Instead of focusing on your brand, you should, first and foremost, think of your audience. Veer away from posting promotional updates or sales pitches because you can be sure they will not appeal to your audience (unless the “perfect” opportunity presents itself, which doesn’t happen often).

When crafting or sharing content, always make it your goal to serve the needs and interests of your audience. This type of engagement is also an effective way to gain new followers in the LinkedIn community. Eventually, you’ll get people trusting you and talking about your brand more.

8. Don’t Optimize Your Page

Failing to optimize your company page is inexcusable. This is where people go first to find out about your business, product, service, or even job opportunities. If users don’t immediately find the information they’re looking for, it’s almost guaranteed that they’ll leave your page and find the information they need somewhere else.

Optimize your LinkedIn company page with a good use of target keywords, a mix of important marketing and investor information, and mobile optimization techniques. Like any other marketing touchpoint, your page should effectively showcase what your brand is, why you operate, and what sets you apart.

9. Lack of Sponsored Content

Many brands run ads on LinkedIn, but not nearly as many have tried their luck on LinkedIn Sponsored Content. That’s understandable because it takes more effort and resources to produce a relevant, valuable piece of content, than short ad copy. However, investing in sponsored content definitely has its advantages.

Sponsored content on LinkedIn is native, and you’ll get a ton of traffic from professionals and decision makers looking for educative information. If your brand can deliver on and satisfy that search for knowledge, you can capitalize on an opportunity to position your brand as an authority figure, building trust within the right circles.

Wrap Up

LinkedIn is one of the most important and versatile channels in the social media space. Use it to enhance your company image, audience engagement, and lead generation, among other B2B marketing goals. Just don’t be guilty of these costly mistakes and you’ll go far.

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